Plea Agreement Requires Prison Sentence in Range of 96 to 144 Months

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Randolph, 31, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Newcomb, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an aggravated sexual abuse charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Randolph will be sentenced to a term of incarceration within the range of 96 to 144 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Randolph also will be required to register as a sex offender.

Randolph was arrested on Dec. 30, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a child under the age of 12 years on Dec. 19, 2013, within the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M. Randolph subsequently was indicted on that same charge.

During today’s hearing, Randolph entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse. Randolph admitted to assaulting the victim by intentionally touching the victim’s genitalia with his hands and fingers.

Randolph remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque and Farmington offices of the FBI and the Shiprock Office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.